1878 – Fever epidemic in New Orleans begin, it will kill 4,500
1901 – Striking Canadian salmon fishermen on the Pacific coast, resentful of the non-union Japanese who continue to fish, maroon and imprison 47
1940 – Frederick McKinley Jones receives a patent for an air conditioning unit for trucks, helping to change long-haul carriage of food and blood
1943 – World War II: Battle of Prokhorovka – Russians defeat German forces in one of the largest ever tank battles
1943 – National Committee Freies Deutschland forms
1954 – Major League Baseball Players Association founded
1955 – 22nd All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-5 in 12 at County Stad, Milw
1966 – Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson voted MLB All Star game MVP
1985 – “Singin’ in the Rain”, musical adaptation of the 1952 film, opens at Gershwin Theater, NYC; runs for 367 performances
2018 – World’s longest fingernails cut off; Shridhar Chillal’s nails measured 909.6cm after growing for 66 years
Author: gil7
Today in History for 12th July 2023
Historical Events
1862 – US Congress authorizes Medal of Honor
1901 – Striking Canadian salmon fishermen on the Pacific coast, resentful of the non-union Japanese who continue to fish, maroon and imprison 47
1966 – 10.51″ (26.70 cm) of rainfall, Sandusky Ohio (state record)
1974 – John Ehrlichman convicted of violating Daniel Ellsberg’s rights
1987 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Brooklawn CC: South African Gary Player wins by a record 6 strokes ahead of Doug Sanders
1995 – Enrique Iglesias releases his first album, “Enrique Iglesias”
Famous Birthdays
1905 – Prince John of the United Kingdom, youngest son of English King George V, born in York Cottage, Sandringham (d. 1919)
1909 – Joey Faye, American comedian (Joey Faye’s Follies), born in NYC, New York (d. 1997)
1935 – Chris Burger, South African cricket batsman (2 Tests, HS 37no; Natal), born in Randfontein, South Africa (d. 2014)
1945 – Dimitar Penev, Bulgarian soccer defender (90 caps; CSKA Sofia 329 games) and manager (Bulgaria 55 games, CSKA Sofia), born in Mirovyane, Bulgaria
1952 – Peter Marti, Swiss soccer striker (6 caps; BSC Young Boys, FC Zürich, FC Basel, FC Aarau), born in Langenthal, Switzerland (d. 2023)
1956 – Mel Harris [Mary Ellen], American actress (Hope-30 Something), born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1988 – Julian Trevelyan, English Surrealist painter and collage maker, dies at 78
1993 – Gusti Huber, Austrian American actress, (The Diary of Anne Frank), dies of heart failure at 78
1995 – Michael Clegg, English naturalist and TV presenter (Clegg’s People), dies at 62
2000 – Charles Merritt, Canadian Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II, dies at 98
2020 – Rod Bernard, American “swamp pop” singer (“Allons Danser Colinda”), dies at 79
2020 – Wim Suurbier, Dutch soccer right back (60 caps; Ajax 392 games) and manager (LA Heat, TB Rowdies), dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at 75
Famous Deaths for 11th July 2023
1775 – Simon Boerum, American Continental Congressman (b. 1724)
1889 – Gyula Reviczky, Hungarian author and poet, dies at 34
1987 – Thomas F Waddell, founder (Gay Olympics), dies of AIDS at 50
1989 – Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen acting great (Hamlet, Rebecca), dies at 82
1991 – James McCallion, Scottish actor (Coogan’s Bluff, Vera Cruz), dies of a heart attack at 72
1993 – Henri van Soede, sub commandant (WWII), dies at about 83
2007 – Alfonso López Michelsen, 24th President of Colombia (1974-78), dies at 94
2007 – Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
2009 – Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (b.1911)
2022 – Gary Moeller, American football coach (University of Michigan 1990-94; Uni of Illinois 1977-79; Detroit Lions), dies at 81
Historical Events for 11th July 2023
1244 – Khwarezmian Tatars sack Jerusalem, decimating the city’s Christian population and driving out Jews
1893 – A revolution led by the liberal general and politician, José Santos Zelaya, takes over state power in Nicaragua
1939 – 7th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-1 at Yankee Stadium, New York NY Yankee/AL manager Joe McCarthy starts 6 Yankees players
1943 – US 82nd Airborne division shot at by “friendly fire” in Sicily
1978 – 49th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-3 at San Diego Stadium
1984 – 55th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 3-1 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco
1987 – Heart’s “Alone” single goes #1 for 3 weeks
1990 – NYC police arrest “Dartman” (stabbed over 50 women with darts)
2019 – Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft lands on the Ryugu asteroid 300m km (185m miles) from earth for a second time to collect samples
2021 – Rare mass anti-government protests across Cuba due to economic hardships and effects of COVID-19 led to widespread arrests
Today in History for 11th July 2023
Historical Events
1848 – Edmund Hickly gets 1st known 10 wicket innings (Kent v England)
1888 – Pennsylvania’s Monongehela River rises 32′ after 24 hour rainfall
1924 – Muslim-Hindu rebellion in Delhi, India
1946 – Kingman Douglass ends term as deputy director of CIA
1960 – “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is first published by J. B. Lippincott and Co.
1995 – All star MVP: Jeff Conine (Florida Marlins)
Famous Birthdays
1801 – John Hill Hewitt, American songwriter (A Minstrel’s Return from the War), born in NYC, New York (d. 1890)
1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter (d. 1939)
1930 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic, born in the Bronx, New York (d. 2019)
1942 – Tomasz Stańko, Polish trumpeter (Astigmatic), born in Rzeszów, Poland (d. 2018)
1951 – Lawrence J Delucas, PhD/astronaut (STS 50), born in Syracuse, New York
1975 – Lil’ Kim [Kimberly Denise Jones], American rapper, born in Brooklyn, New York
Famous Deaths
1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1st surrealist painter, dies (birth date unkn)
1874 – Xavier de Mérode, Belgium minister to the Pope in Rome, dies at 54
1948 – Gerhard Kittel, German anti-semite theologist (Die Oden Salomons), dies at 59
1993 – Henri van Soede, sub commandant (WWII), dies at about 83
2006 – Barnard Hughes, American stage and screen actor (Doc; Tron; Best Friends; Where’s Poppa?), dies at 90
2010 – Bob Sheppard, American public address announcer (MLB: NY Yankees 1951–2007; NFL: NY Giants 1956–2006), dies at 99
Famous Deaths for 10th July 2023
1290 – King Ladislaus IV (“the Cuman”), Árpád dynasty King of Hungary and Croatia (1272-90), dies at 27
1590 – Archduke Charles II of Austria (b. 1540)
1935 – Paul Hines, American MLB outfielder (Triple Crown 1878, Providence Grays), dies at 80
1978 – John D. Rockefeller III, American oil billionaire and philanthropist, dies in a car crash at 71
1992 – Albert Pierrepoint, last and longest serving British executioner (est. 433-608 executed), dies at 87
1993 – Ruth Krauss, author (Carrot Seed), dies at 91
2005 – Roland Bengtsson, Swedish guitarist, lute player and double bassist, dies at 88
2008 – Hiroaki Aoki, founder of Benihana (b. 1938)
2011 – Roland Petit, French choreographer and dancer (b. 1924)
2020 – Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (World C’ship gold 500m 2019; Olympic bronze 3000m relay 2018), dies from an autoimmune disease at 27
Historical Events for 10th July 2023
1598 – Spanish theater plays “Moros y Los Cristianos” in Rio Grande
1690 – Battle of Beachy Head – French fleet defeat Anglo-Dutch fleet under Cornelis Evertsen
1913 – World’s official highest recorded temperature at Greenland Ranch (now known as Furnace Creek Ranch), Death Valley, California at 134 °F (56.7 °C)
1915 – British/South African troops march into German SW-Africa
1936 – 110°F (43°C) at Runyon, New Jersey (state record)
1944 – “Father of Medicare” Tommy Douglas becomes the 7th Premier of Saskatchewan
1958 – Ex-king Norodom Sihanoek appointed premier of Cambodia
1979 – Chuck Berry begins 4 months term in prison for $200,000 in tax evasion
2018 – Original sketch of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood by EH Shepard sells for £430,000 in London, record price for a book illustration
2018 – The final 4 boys and their coach are rescued from Tham Luang Nang Non cave, Thailand after being trapped there for 18 days by monsoon flooding
Today in History for 10th July 2023
Historical Events
1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns in Southwark, south of London Bridge
1584 – Spanish army leader Richebourg conquers Liefkenshoek, Belgium
1989 – Paula Ivan runs female world record 1 mile (4:15.61)
1993 – Yobes Ondieki runs world record 10km (26:58.38)
1997 – Louise Woodward’s trial begins in Massachusetts Nanny murder trial
2016 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Scotsman Andy Murray beats Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 for his 2nd Wimbledon and 3rd Grand Slam title
Famous Birthdays
1895 – Carl Orff, German composer (Carmina Burana; Der Mond; Mozart Prize – 1969), born in Munich, Germany (d. 1982)
1902 – Kurt Alder, German chemist (Nobel 1950), born in Königshütte, Upper Silesia (d. 1958)
1940 – Tom Farmer, Scottish entrepreneur, born in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland
1945 – Jean-Marie Poiré, French film director, born in Paris
1945 – John Motson, British football broadcaster (10 x FIFA World Cups; 10 x UEFA European C’ships; 29 x FA Cup finals; BBC, Talksport), born in Salford, England (d. 2023)
1965 – Ken Mellons, American singer
Famous Deaths
518 – Anastasius I Dikoros [Dyrrhachium/Durazzo], Byzantine emperor (491-518), dies at 87
649 – Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor of China (626-49), dies at 51
1086 – Knut IV, the Saint, king of Denmark (1080-86), murdered
1920 – Jackie Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
1995 – Hugh Dundas, fighter pilot/businessman, dies at 74
2011 – Pierrette Alarie, Canadian operatic soprano, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 9th July 2023
1677 – Angelus Silesius [Johann Scheffer], German mystic, poet and court physician, dies at 52
1696 – Waclaw Potocki, Polish poet (Wojna Chocimska), dies
1843 – Washington Allston, American painter (pioneer of America’s Romantic movement of landscape painting) and author, dies at 63
1963 – Frank Mayo, American silent screen actor (Burning Gold, Hell’s Headquarters), dies of a heart attack at 77
1968 – Allyn Edwards, host (One Minute Please, Mr Citizen), dies at 53
1974 – Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, French Dadaist artist and writer, dies at 90
1977 – Loren Eiseley, American anthropologist and natural science writer (The Unexpected Universe), dies at 69
2013 – Andrea Veneracion, Filipina singer, choral conductor (Philippine Madrigal Singers), composer, arranger, and educator, dies from stroke complications at 84
2022 – Tommy Jacobs, American golfer (US Open 1964 runner-up; US Masters 1966 runner-up), dies at 87
2022 – John Gwynne, English sports commentator and reporter (PDC darts tournaments Sky Sports), dies from cancer at 77
Historical Events for 9th July 2023
1541 – Estevão da Gama departs Massawa, leaving behind 400 matchlock men and 150 slaves under his brother Christovão da Gama, with orders to help the Emperor of Ethiopia defeat Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi who has invaded his Empire
1572 – Death of the Gorcum Martyrs: Calvinist militant force the Watergeuzen (the Sea Beggars) capture and hang 19 Catholic priests in Brielle
1672 – William III inaugurated as viceroy of Holland and Zealand
1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire
1932 – Yanks’ Ben Chapman hits 2 inside-the-park HRs, tying record
1947 – Engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten
1985 – South Africa police arrested Dutch ANC’er Klaas de Jong
1986 – Padres trade pitcher Tim Stoddard to Yankees for pitcher Ed Whitson
2006 – At least 122 people killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers veers off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions
2016 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Serena Williams beats Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3, equalling Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slam singles tiles